Gothic
Gardening: The Secret Names of Plants
Eye
of Newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's
fork, and blind-worm's sting
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing
While
this famous recipe from Shakespeare's Macbeth sounds like
a grisly combination of animal parts, almost all the references
are probably to herbs. It has been a longstanding tradition
in magic and sorcery to refer to spell components obliquely;
often the real recipe resembles very little what the uninitiated
conjure in their minds' eye.
For
example, 'tongue of dog' is referring to houndstongue, Cynoglossom
officinale. This herb supposedly has the power to quiet
the barking of dogs. 'Adder's fork' is adder's tongue, Ohioglossum
vulgatum, a fern reputed to have healing properties.
One
of the Greek magical papyri actually contained a list of
translations of some the terms used in spells. They called
plants by these secret names "because of the curiosity of
the masses". The concern was that "they do not take precaution",
and using these oblique terms would prevent the masses from
practicing magic. Here are some of the translations:
- A
Bone of an Ibis: this is Buckthorn.
- Tears
[Sleep Sand] of a Hamadryas
- Baboon:
Dill Juice.
-
Blood of Hephaistos: Wormwood.
- Hairs
of a Hamadryas Baboon: Dill Seed.
- Semen
of Hermes: Dill.
- Blood
of Ares: Purslane.
- Blood
of an Eye: Tamarisk Gall.
-
Blood from a Shoulder: Bear's Breach [probably Acanthus
mollis or Helleborus foetidus].
- From
the Loins: Camomile.
- A
Man's Bile: Turnip Sap [probably Brassica napus].
- A
Pig's Tail: Leopard's Bane.
- Blood
of Hestia: Camomile.
- An
Eagle: Wild Garlic [Trigonella foenumgraecum, but the
reading is doubtful].
- Blood
of a Goose: A Mulberry Tree's Milk.
-
A Lion's Hairs: Tongue of a Turnip [i.e., the leaves of
the taproot].
- Kronos'
Blood: . . . of Cedar.
- Semen
of Helios: White Hellebore.
- Semen
of Herakles: this
is Mustard-rocket [probably Eruca sativa].
- A
Titan's Blood: Wild Lettuce.
- Blood
from a Head: Lupine.
- A
Hawk's Heart: Heart of Wormwood.
- Semen
of Hephaistos: This is Fleabane.
- Semen
of Ammon: Houseleek.
-
Semen of Ares: Clover.
- Fat
from a Head: Spurge.
- From
the Belly: Earth-apple.
- From
the Foot: Houseleek.
From
The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation including the Demotic
Spells by Hans Dieter Betz. Translators' notes are in [
]. Apparently this list is not unique, since similar lists
are apparently found in the works of Galen, Paul of Aegineta,
and Dioscorides.
Knowing
the various folk names of plants can also be useful in attempting
to determine the ingredients of a spell. Some examples which
might be helpful:
- Ass's
Foot or Bull's Foot: Coltsfoot
- Bat's
Wings: Holly
- Bear's
Foot: Lady's Mantle
- Calf's
Snout: Snapdragon
- Bull's
Blood or Seed of Horus: Horehound
- Graveyard
Dust: Mullein
- Unicorn
Root: Ague Root
- Wolf
Claw: Club Moss
- Wolf's
Milk: Euphorbia
-
Sparrow's Tongue: Knotweed
It's
quite easy to imagine how these names could be used in a
spell to obscure the true ingredients and make the recipe
sound far more gruesome than it really is. Suffice to say,
if the components of an old spell sound straightforward,
they probably aren't.
from
Gothic
Gardening: Potpourri
For
more information on above mentioned plants,
trees & herbs, see also my Chapter
on this subject.
For
More Gardens (The Garden of Ill Omens, Gardening for Bats
and Much More):
Gothic
Gardening, Theme
